Dual Motors for the Launcher

This week in STEM I'm continuing on working on my small 15 x 15 x 15 robot and making changes on it so that it can score more points. My small robot is going to be competing against Lily's much larger robot in test that will involve, speed, weight, cost, and ability to score by shooting balls into goals while being  controlled manually. I might have an upper hand in weight and possibly speed but outscoring a bigger robot might be a challenge since she will be able to score on the high goals of the field easier. To try and be able to score more high goals with ease I've added another motor to increase the speed of the rotation of the launcher wheels. Hopefully this can increase my chances of winning in the scoring round of the competition. Good luck Lily but I'm going to win! Here's some pictures of the motors that spin the wheels and a video of how fast the wheels spin now. Also there's a picture of the field we compete in to score goals. 

Nothing But Net Vex Competition at ASU

This week at the STEM internship we competed at the VEX nothing but net competition which was held at the ASU Tempe campus. There were a lot more people there than I expected even though most of them were affiliated with the middle and high school competition than ours. Either way it's nice to see that robotics is something that is growing in the interest of the youth. All the robots have to pass an inspection before they even are able to practice on the field and it turns out that my robot was about an inch too wide of the 15x15x15 requirement for a small robot. I had to move the entire gear portion of the robot over so it could fit the requirement which took some time. When it finally passed the inspection I started having some battery problems with the robot turning off on the field. With my robot not able to compete Lucas and Ainsley used their robots to compete in the beginning and they did great. Once the eliminating rounds started I was helping Ainsley load the balls into the robot and I drove Lily's small robot which had the main purpose of being picked up by the big robot. It was difficult driving her robot and getting it in position but I was able to get it there a couple of times. We ended up losing in the semifinals but against a very tough team from Colorado. The competition was a lot of fun even though my robot didn't compete I definitely want to go again and try and win first. Here's a video of me trying to score on the high goal with my robot but I wasn't able to.

VEX Robotics Competition This Weekend!

This week in my STEM internship I've been able to put my robot together with help from Josh and make it able to move, pick up a ball and actually shoot the ball. Although the shot isn't what we want yet that's where I'm at as of now on the robot. It's difficult to modify a robot when you're restricted to only 15 inches in length, width and height. I need to get the right angle, power and distance for the perfect shot to make the goals and score some points for our team. The VEX competition is this Saturday at the ASU Tempe campus and I'm really looking forward to it since it's going to be my first time at any type of VEX competition. I hope we do well and bring home 1st place, also anyone who is interested in going to support the PC team the event is free as well as parking. You should contact Amanda, Josh, or Matt for the details. Here are some pictures of how my robot looks like, it still needs some final touches before Saturday.

 Front View

 Side View

Rear View

Started Building the New Small VEX Shooter Robot

     This week in the S-STEM Program I started building my smaller shooter robot that has to be under 15 inches in length, width and height. I got my parts in this week that I ordered and started building the main chassis or the main frame of the robot. I got the 4 omnidirectional wheels on the chassis that make the robot able to move forwards and backwards and side to side. I also started on the part of the robot that looks like the path where the balls will be going into. This path I built will guide the balls up by a chain and several other parts to be shot out by one or two spinning wheels at the top. I still have a lot to finish this robot with the competition around the corner in a little over two weeks. I'm looking forward to getting my robot moving and shooting the balls in the goals. I'll keep you guys updated next week. Here's a couple of pictures of how the robot is looking so far.

First Week back at S-STEM Program Spring 2016, Robotics Project

   This was my first week back at the S-STEM program and it feels good to be back and meet some new people and scholars, along with the people I knew from my previous internship. My project is going to be based around VEX robotics which are robots that are built from scratch using  materials (wheels, structural beams, motors, wires, gears, etc.) and are made to do a task or to compete against other robots. In my case there is a VEX competition upcoming in March 5th called Nothing but Net at ASU which is a competition where robots must pick up plastic balls and shoot them at goals and have to beat the other team's score. This semester I have to build two small robots with dimensions no bigger than 15x15x15 inches. My first robot that I've started already will be designed like a motorcycle and it's job is to ultimately be small enough to fit and drive up inside the larger robots pictured above to the right. The point of this robot is to get us 25-50 extra points to our score as long as it's 4-12 inches off the ground. The second small robot is going to be a small shooter robot based off the design below that will hopefully be able to score on the higher goals. My parts are ordered for my second robot and I should be able to start building next week. Wish me luck!

Bit off more than I can chew STEM! Goodbye for Winter, Merry Christmas and a New Year!

These past few weeks have been probably the most stressed I've ever been in my life........SO FAR, that is. As the saying goes I believe I bit off more than I can chew this semester which includes my four classes, this internship, and a new full time job. YEAH, FULL TIME! I over estimated myself and thought I could get through this like a piece of cake, but I was unfortunately mistaken. I've been going to class then internship and to work right after most of the days from the week and I was fine the first week but I started to feel the toll and the work started to pile up. I am very glad this semester is coming to an end and hopefully do great on my finals this and next week. I will like to wish everyone good  luck on the final paper and presentations tomorrow and a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm fortunately going to be spending new years in LAS VEGAS with my girlfriend's family (visiting family, not for a hangover trip) have a nice break everyone and hopefully see most of you guys when we come back.

The Last Few Weeks of my First Semester......yaaaaaaay

So the end is near. Only a few weeks left of this 2013 fall semester and it's been filled with a lot of learning and a lot of new people. Oh yeah, and a whole lot of homework!! Being in this STEM internship program has been AWESOME so far I met a lot of new people and I learned a lot from identifying bacterias and learning how to make media plates. I know there is so much more to learn here and to do, I can't wait for the projects to start next semester if I get chosen to come back (fingers crossed). I really hope I do come back  because I wish to learn more! I need more of Jedi Josh and Matt's knowledge, but in all seriousness I really have enjoyed this semester and has been a great first one and wish to spend more in this program. I am currently very busy with research papers and presentations due next week combined with working so its kind of hectic.